This course is a legal requirement for those elected as Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) within their workgroup. The course provides participants with the skills and knowledge to enable them to fulfil the role of Health and Safety Representatives (HSR), as set out in the Work Health and Safety Act, 2011. It includes content on:
- Overview of the work health and safety (WHS) legislative framework.
Duties of various parties.
- Key WHS terminology.
- The role of WHSQ and penalties for non‐compliance.
- Requirements and mechanisms for consultation in the workplace on work health and safety issues.
- The role, entitlements and protections available for HSRs and Health and
- Safety Committees (HSCs).
- Resolving workplace health and safety issues through negotiation and conflict resolution.
- Identifying hazards and ways in which they can be eliminated or minimised
- Incident notification and investigation.
- Issuing Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) and directing unsafe work to cease.
HSRs in Queensland are entitled to attend this WHSQ-approved five-day training course within three months of making a request for such training to their PCBU or employer. Employers are required to allow the HSR to take time off work to attend this training.
Likewise, HSRs are also entitled to attend one-day refresher courses at least every three years, with the entitlement to the first refresher training commencing three years after the initial training (as per Section 21 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)).
